oil cooler info

[S Schroeder]

Hi all-
I was at our local VW hot rod shop (Randy's Stuff) here in Colorado. They have a prepackaged oil cooler set up for 100.00 that includes the cooler, lines, sandwich plate and all fittings. Any body have any experience with these? The kit is manufatured by SCAT. Any help/info is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Scott S

[mejulihn]

I am not familiar with that particular kit. Does it include an electric fan? $100 sounds a little on the low side if it includes a good quality fan. On the other hand, $100 is too high if the kit only includes the cooler, sandwich adaptor and hoses. You may want to compare a similar-sounding kit from JC Whitney at the site below: http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=34956

[This message has been edited by mejulihn (edited 05-22-2000).]

[JP Noonan]

Check out the tech article section on this site for an oil cooler article. Basically there are two types of "kits" some with an air-craft quality, plate type of cooler. The other are just transmission coolers in another box. Problem with the transmission coolers is that tranny fluid is much thinner than oil. On a cold day the oil pressure can exceed the burst pressure of the tranny cooler and you get one big oil leak. On either type of cooler a a inline thermostat is a good idea if you drive in cold weather.

Personally if you have a stock pre 75 motor and you need an oil cooler, there is something wrong with your engine that should be fixed first. The 75-76 engines run hotter only because of the air pump and bass-ackwards exhaust. If you have retro fitted the earlier type then it shouldn't run any hotter than an earlier engine.

I'm not saying you shouldn't put a cooler on a stock motor, just if it is running hot the cooler is a "band-aid" fix to a bigger problem.

[S Schroeder]

What brought all of this on was a recent upgrade to a 911 temp/pressure guage that I replaced the gas guage with in the instument pod. It is numerical and when I really push the car the guage reads 210-215. I have been told this is acceptable, I am just looking for a little leeway. The engine is a 5 year old 2.0 with 5,000 miles that runs very well. I live in Colorado, so we don't have the air and my driving usually is up in the mountains. The kit does not include a fan, just the cooler, lines and all of the fittings. Any other advice?
Thanks!
Scott S

[mejulihn]

I just installed an oil cooler/fan assembly in my '76. Unless you intend to mount the cooler in an air stream (i.e. up front somewhere) then I highly recommend a thermostatically-controlled fan. I pretty much followed Pete Dubler's tech article mentioned above.

[Joe Bob]

SCAT has been around awhile but the quality is not always the best. 200-215 degrees is not bad, but if you do put a cooler in, use and inline thermostat. Two reasons, a big slug of cold oil can cause a rupture in the cooler and too cool oil will cause oil sludge to build up....oil cooled engines can be too cool and well as too hot...the thermostat will make sure that the engine stays at the best operating temps.

Good Luck.

[PeteD]

Thanks for referring folks to the tech article. Coincidently, today I just sent and update to Wayne regarding a little cost savings and answered the questions of the cheap refrigerator type coolers versus the multi-plate coolers. Here is a copy:

Pete

UPDATE: May 2000

Many folks have built the cooler system described in this article. Here
are a few notes to save you some money and to hopefully keep you from
falsely saving money on the wrong cooler element.

There have been a few price changes and now you can get all of the key
parts from Jeg's. I also have just a few more of those hard-to-find
AC/Delco Thermoswitches for $12 including 1st class USPS email me to see
if I still have one dublerfamily@earthlink.net)

You can now get the mechanical thermostat and a comparable cooler from
Jegs.
Here are the part numbers and prices, per Jeg's May 2000 catalog.

8" Perma-Cool Fan (now lower price) P/N 771-19128 $58.99
Mechanical Oil Thermostat P/N 771-1060 $38.99
B&M 6" cooler 130-70264 (11" x 6" X 1 1/2") $49.99
NOTE: The cooler includes barbed fittings and some hose (for cooler to
filter assembly run), so you can cross those off the parts list.

All together, by ordering all these parts (plus the oil filter spin-on
adapter and remote mount) from one source, you can save some money and
hassle over using the three sources listed in the original article.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I have been asked if using a less expensive, single
tube, multi-pass, fins-like-a-refrigerator, type cooler would work as
well as the multi-plate cooler recommended in the article. I believe
not. The multi-plate cooler is many times more efficient because it 1)
exposes much more oil surface area to cooling surfaces, 2) creates
turbulance in the oil, to mix the cool and hot oil and bring the hot oil
to the cooling surface, and 3) provides more cooling time, in that the
oil moves slower through a multi-plate cooler. Also, the multi-plate
cooler is much more rugged, so you can feel safe mounting it under the
car. I have been nothing but happy with this system and believe if you
follow the details in the article, you will be also.

[S Schroeder]

Here is a quick update if anyone is interested. I had the local shop order an oil cooler kit from SCAT listed for the 914 and 924. When it arrived it was much more substantial than I expected - especially for $89! It is a six pass cooler with high quality fittings. The actual cooling fins are approx 2"x4". The cooler came with a built in bracket that is exaclty the same size as the center opening on the engine lid cover - so that is where I mounted it.(I have the 914-6GT engine lid so I still have piles of air flow.)I ran the oil lines between the firewall and the battery, drilled a couple of holes and attached them to the sandwich plate. I don't have any interference with the oil filter at all(my car is a 72 with the old style engine mount bar - if that matters). I have not installed a thermostat as I only drive the car in the summer, but with the lines so easily accesable, it would not be much of a chore to add if things change.
My car was running at 210-215 when I really pushed it. After the install of the cooler and the undercar cooling fins from a 1976 car, my temp now does not get over 200, and that is with mountain driving in our recent 90-95 degree weather. The way the bracket is on the cooler, I will have no problem installing a fan at a later date if need be. I am very pleased. I can't believe how easy it was to install. Not bad for 89.00 and 45 minutes worth of work (I had 90% of the install done while waiting for the oil to finish draining from the pan!)
Just an FYI!
Scott S

[This message has been edited by S Schroeder (edited 06-22-2000).]